West View is a

borough A borough is an administrative division in various English-speaking countries. In principle, the term ''borough'' designates a self-governing walled town, although in practice, official use of the term varies widely. History In the Middle Ag ...

Allegheny County Allegheny County () is a County (United States), county in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. It is located in Southwestern Pennsylvania. As of the 2020 census, the population was 1,250,578, making it the state's seco ...

in the

U.S. state In the United States, a state is a constituent political entity, of which there are 50. Bound together in a political union, each state holds governmental jurisdiction over a separate and defined geographic territory where it shares its sover ...

Pennsylvania Pennsylvania (; ( Pennsylvania Dutch: )), officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a state spanning the Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes regions of the United States. It borders Delaware to its southeast, ...

, just north of downtown

Pittsburgh Pittsburgh ( ) is a city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, United States, and the county seat of Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, Allegheny County. It is the most populous city in both Allegheny County and Wester ...

. The population was 6,685 at the 2020 census.

Geography and climate

West View is located at (40.518368, -80.033645). According to the

United States Census Bureau The United States Census Bureau (USCB), officially the Bureau of the Census, is a principal agency of the U.S. Federal Statistical System, responsible for producing data about the American people and economy. The Census Bureau is part of the ...

, the borough has a total area of , all land.

Demographics

As of the

census A census is the procedure of systematically acquiring, recording and calculating information about the members of a given population. This term is used mostly in connection with national population and housing censuses; other common censuses incl ...

of 2000, there were 7,277 people, 3,149 households, and 1,908 families residing in the borough. The

population density Population density (in agriculture: standing stock or plant density) is a measurement of population per unit land area. It is mostly applied to humans, but sometimes to other living organisms too. It is a key geographical term.Matt RosenberPopul ...

was 7,210.8 people per square mile (2,781.8/km²). There were 3,304 housing units at an average density of 3,273.9 per square mile (1,263.1/km²). The racial makeup of the borough was 97.62%

White White is the lightest color and is achromatic (having no hue). It is the color of objects such as snow, chalk, and milk, and is the opposite of black. White objects fully reflect and scatter all the visible wavelengths of light. White on ...

, 0.93%

African American African Americans (also referred to as Black Americans and Afro-Americans) are an ethnic group consisting of Americans with partial or total ancestry from sub-Saharan Africa. The term "African American" generally denotes descendants of ens ...

, 0.07% Native American, 0.52%

Asian Asian may refer to: * Items from or related to the continent of Asia: ** Asian people, people in or descending from Asia ** Asian culture, the culture of the people from Asia ** Asian cuisine, food based on the style of food of the people from Asi ...

, 0.18% from

other races Other often refers to: * Other (philosophy), a concept in psychology and philosophy Other or The Other may also refer to: Film and television * ''The Other'' (1913 film), a German silent film directed by Max Mack * ''The Other'' (1930 film), a ...

, and 0.67% from two or more races.

Hispanic The term ''Hispanic'' ( es, hispano) refers to people, Spanish culture, cultures, or countries related to Spain, the Spanish language, or Hispanidad. The term commonly applies to countries with a cultural and historical link to Spain and to Vic ...

Latino Latino or Latinos most often refers to: * Latino (demonym), a term used in the United States for people with cultural ties to Latin America * Hispanic and Latino Americans in the United States * The people or cultures of Latin America; ** Latin A ...

of any race were 0.54% of the population. There were 3,149 households, out of which 28.3% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 45.3% were

married couples Marriage, also called matrimony or wedlock, is a culturally and often legally recognized union between people called spouses. It establishes rights and obligations between them, as well as between them and their children, and between t ...

living together, 11.8% had a female householder with no husband present, and 39.4% were non-families. 33.7% of all households were made up of individuals, and 14.8% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.31 and the average family size was 3.01. In the borough the population was spread out, with 23.4% under the age of 18, 6.6% from 18 to 24, 32.6% from 25 to 44, 21.3% from 45 to 64, and 16.0% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 38 years. For every 100 females there were 88.3 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 84.0 males. The median income for a household in the borough was $38,264, and the median income for a family was $48,255,000. Males had a median income of $32,700 versus $27,031 for females. The

per capita income Per capita income (PCI) or total income measures the average income earned per person in a given area (city, region, country, etc.) in a specified year. It is calculated by dividing the area's total income by its total population. Per capita i ...

for the borough was $21,025. About 4.4% of families and 6.4% of the population were below the

poverty line The poverty threshold, poverty limit, poverty line or breadline is the minimum level of income deemed adequate in a particular country. The poverty line is usually calculated by estimating the total cost of one year's worth of necessities for t ...

, including 7.0% of those under age 18 and 9.1% of those age 65 or over.

Government and politics

Council members

017-2019Democrats-6 (Schellhaus, Kircher, Borio, Aguglia, Steele, Mikec), Unknown party-1 (Miller), Republicans-0

Education

West View, along with neighboring (and surrounding) Ross Township, is served by the North Hills School District.

West View Park

From 1906 to 1977, West View was home to one of the most remembered Pittsburgh amusement parks,

West View Park West View Park was an American amusement park, located in West View, Pennsylvania, north of Pittsburgh. It was owned by T.M. Harton Company of Pittsburgh through its subsidiary company West View Park Company, which was founded in December 1905. T ...

. Located in the neighborhood's valley on Perry Highway/U.S. 19, this one-midway

trolley park Trolley may refer to: Vehicles and components * Tram, or trolley or streetcar, a rail vehicle that runs on tramway tracks * Trolleybus, or trolley, an electric bus drawing power from overhead wires using trolley poles ** Trolleytruck, a trolleyb ...

featured two beloved

roller coaster A roller coaster, or rollercoaster, is a type of amusement ride that employs a form of elevated railroad track designed with tight turns, steep slopes, and sometimes inversions. Passengers ride along the track in open cars, and the rides are o ...

s: The Dips, with its unique banked turn-around curve, and the Racing Whippet, which featured two coasters on a strategically placed single track so that the train that started on the left of the loading platform came back on the right side and vice versa. Another popular park attraction was "Danceland", an entertainment hall that featured many performers from

big band A big band or jazz orchestra is a type of musical ensemble of jazz music that usually consists of ten or more musicians with four sections: saxophones, trumpets, trombones, and a rhythm section. Big bands originated during the early 1910s an ...

rock and roll Rock and roll (often written as rock & roll, rock 'n' roll, or rock 'n roll) is a Genre (music), genre of popular music that evolved in the United States during the late 1940s and early 1950s. It Origins of rock and roll, originated from Africa ...

over the years, most notably

The Rolling Stones The Rolling Stones are an English rock band formed in London in 1962. Active for six decades, they are one of the most popular and enduring bands of the rock era. In the early 1960s, the Rolling Stones pioneered the gritty, rhythmically d ...

in 1964. Danceland burned to the ground in 1973 and was not rebuilt. West View Park closed for good at the end of the 1977 season. Its competing amusement park,

Kennywood Kennywood is an amusement park located in West Mifflin, Pennsylvania, just southeast of Pittsburgh. The park opened on May 30, 1899, as a trolley park attraction at the end of the Mellon family's Monongahela Street Railway. It was purchased in 1 ...

, was continuously expanding with bigger attractions, which West View was unable to do because of its location. Today, West View Park Shopping Center (originally signed with a roller coaster resembling the Dips, replaced in 2010 by a new sign with a carousel horse on top) occupies the amusement park site. The shopping center opened in 1981. There are no traces of the park left, but several nearby businesses feature old memorabilia (such as signs, photos, and tickets). The since-closed Wendy's fast-food restaurant in the West View Plaza was remodeled in 2008, and featured several new pictures that were on their walls that show the old Park. The

coming-of-age novel In literary criticism, a ''Bildungsroman'' (, plural ''Bildungsromane'', ) is a literary genre that focuses on the psychological and moral growth of the protagonist from childhood to adulthood ( coming of age), in which character change is imp ...

''Stick Man'', about a boy growing up in a bohemian household, with an accompanying musical soundtrack, is set in West View. Several key scenes are set in West View Park. The novel was written by West View native

Richard Rossi Richard Rossi is an American filmmaker, actor, writer, talk radio host, musician, and former evangelical minister. Among Rossi's projects are the film ''Canaan Land'' which contained five of Rossi's songs that made the song list for Oscar con ...

References

External links

Borough website

West View Historical Society
{{S-end Populated places established in 1905 Boroughs in Allegheny County, Pennsylvania 1905 establishments in Pennsylvania